July 2026 brought a new agent based on the Copilot SDK, built-in expertise from the .NET and Azure teams, and more ways to tailor GitHub Copilot to how you and your team work.
Highlights
Here’s what’s new with GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio 2026. Check the Insiders channel for the latest:
Try the new agent, now in public preview: Copilot Chat has a new Agent (Preview) option in the agent picker, built on the same GitHub Copilot SDK that powers the GitHub Copilot CLI. It gets more tasks right the first time with less back-and-forth. Responses are shorter and easier to scan. Select it from the agent picker at the bottom of the Copilot Chat window.
Built-in .NET and Azure skills: Visual Studio now includes built-in skills authored by experts from the .NET and Azure teams to help you customize your agentic workflow. Find them in the “Built-in” category of the tool picker when the corresponding workloads are installed. They’re off by default, so you can review and enable only the ones that fit your tasks.
